Nico Nijenhuis, a designer from Clear Flight Solutions, has invented robotic predatory birds for scaring real birds away when they aren't welcome.
The robots, called "Robirds," are capable of flapping their wings and flying, and are designed to act like real birds, according to Gizmag. The designers said the birds' convincing appearance can help them fly in areas where they can exploit birds' natural instinct to stay away from predators to make them leave. Such instincts come from recognizing predators' silhouette and wing movement.
Problems that birds can cause include eating crops, straying in the path of aircrafts and spreading disease from looking for food in landfills.
Clear Flight Solutions said that their remote-controlled Robirds proved successful in their initial field trials, reducing the number of nuisance bird populations by at least 50 percent, Discovery News reported. The Netherlands-based company added that the robots have the potential to chase birds out of certain areas.
Two different models were developed for the Robirds. One was a peregrine falcon model, which comes with a body length up to 23 inches and a wingspan of 47 inches, and can reach a speed of 50 miles per hour. The other model is an eagle, and has a body length almost twice that of the falcon and a wingspan of 86 inches.
While the Robirds are currently controlled wirelessly from the ground, Clear Flight Solutions is looking to make the machines autonomous, Gizmag reported. The robotic birds are currently going through tests that are expected to continue through 2015.
